Plan includes Wherry Quarter housing

HAMPTON — A master plan allowing the Fort Monroe Authority to sell homes and build on vacant land is heading to the governor's office.

The Fort Monroe Authority Board of Trustees approved the plan Thursday afternoon, despite objections that new construction just north and east of the stone fort could be ill-fitting for the historic property.

Del. Gordon Helsel and Sen. Mamie Locke, both of whom sit on the board, voted against the document. Gov. Bob McDonnell is expected to review the plan before his terms ends in January.

Trustees said they believe the plan created by Sasaki Associates, of Boston, lays out a firm path that protects the historic qualities of the property while finding a way to wean the authority's operations off taxpayers' dollars.

"This provides a flexible path that is sensitive to any changes that might come about," chairman John Lawson said.

Members of the Citizens for a Fort Monroe National Park objected to the plan, saying homes in the Wherry Quarter area will devalue the nearby national monument.

"Americans will ultimately not permit this subdivision," said Mark Perreault, the group's president.

Virginia Department of Historic Resources Director Kathleen Kilpatrick backed the master plan in an Oct. 23 letter to the authority.

"The current plan is respectful of the character and quality that Fort Monroe already possesses," Kilpatrick wrote.

Just this month, Fort Monroe officials said the property can be financially self-sufficient, as long as the right strings are pulled.

To achieve that goal, existing homes must be sold, vacant land must be built on and financial arrangements with the city and National Park Service must be reworked.

The authority can sell property in the Historic Village and North Gate areas of Fort Monroe. The Inner Fort and Wherry Quarter areas are excluded from property sales.

Property owners must abide by strict guidelines detailing the size, height, architecture and materials that can be used during construction and renovations.

Fort Monroe Authority Executive Director Glenn Oder has said the General Assembly will likely not provide funding for the authority to renovate homes beyond what is needed to simply maintain those structures. Homeowners, though, can spend freely as long as improvements mesh with guidelines.

The master plan includes creating 1,120 new residential units using existing buildings and building anew. That would bring an additional 2,500 to 3,000 residents to Fort Monroe.

The master plan approved Thursday guides the authority to sell nearly all of the existing homes outside of the moat while continuing to lease commercial buildings in the Wherry Quarter.

"There are a lot of assumptions built into the plan that the board will need to implement in the future," said David Shiver, of Bay Area Economics.

The authority will also force property buyers to obtain mortgages through the authority, creating capital the authority can use to invest and on which it can earn interest.

The plan also leaves room for a science, technology, engineering and math school inside the inner moat. A trail follows the shoreline and McNair Drive is partially dedicated to pedestrians and cyclists.